Cowes Harbour tests emergency response procedures
Cowes Harbour’s three-yearly oil spill response exercise, as required by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, was held recently. The exercise consisted of both practical on the water deployment of oil spill equipment and an incident management exercise at the Harbour Office.
The multi-agency oil spill Incident Management Exercise was run with Cowes Harbour oil spill response partners, Adler and Allan, to test the capability and processes for dealing with a hydrocarbon spill in the harbour. Marine transfer barge, Blade Runner Two, owned by Williams Shipping, was utilised during the exercise where a punctured fuel tank was simulated and oil spill response instigated.
“This scenario was designed to exercise our Oil Spill Response Plan and the cooperation between CHC, Adler and Allan and other external parties that could be involved in an oil spill incident and clean-up in the harbour,” says Harbour Master Capt. Stuart McIntosh. “These Incident Management Exercises are held once every three years, providing valuable experience of local conditions and spill scenarios and helping to enhance the skills and teamwork of all those who take part.”
The Oil Spill Management Team had to deal with a wide variety of issues involving the containment and removal of the oil, the safety of personnel, and the environmentally sensitive areas and populated sites close to the incident.
Read more about the exercise online.
